Kingdom: New Lands

Another sequel in the competition, this time in the very promising “Kingdom” series. This sidescroller and strategy hybrid provides satisfaction from building and settling new lands, while offering mounting tension and thrills comparable to horror film-induced anxiety. All with top level pixel art, suggestive audio and beautifully minimalistic music. New lands can be conquered both as King and Queen.

noio & Licorice

Respectively: Dutchman Thomas van den Berg and Iceland-based Italian Marco Bancale. The former – a designer and developer of video games and, as he would have it, game-like things. The latter – a programmer whose romance with making games started back when he was 12 years old.